Article hanger

ABSTRACT

An S shaped hook with one open end with an opening sized to fit over and removably secure to a top edge of a vertical bathroom stall or door of a public restroom to position its other open end to act as a hanging hook.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field

This invention pertains to article hangers. In particular, it pertains to an S shaped hanger accessory for women's/men's purses, handbags, backpacks, diaper bags, and lightweight travel bags for use in public restrooms that do not have hooks on the doors.

2. State of the Art

There are a wide variety of article holding devices primarily directed to suspending a purse from a hook having a horizontal support surface to removably contact and hang from a counter or table to suspend a hook from which the purse or article is suspended—See for example expired patent, Schultz, U.S. Pat. No. 4,194,714 issued Mar. 25, 1980; Creed, U.S. Pat. No. 5,094,417 issued Mar. 10, 1992; Kennedy, U.S. Pat. No. 4,978,093 issued Dec. 18, 1990; and design patents Olson, Des. 300,882 issued May 2, 1989; Osterholt, US D435,722 issued Jan. 2, 2001; and Osterholt et al, US D517,732 issued Mar. 21, 2006.

These Osterholt design patents are based on similar support principles as expired design patent, Rohrmuller, Des. 244,883 issued Jun. 28, 1977. The Osterholt patents may be adapted to hang purses from the top flat edges of bathroom stalls.

Expired patent, Bolton, U.S. Pat. No. 3,773,288 issued Nov. 20, 1973 uses a C-shaped member, which has a rod affixed at right angles to secure to the top surface of a table.

Cited for general interest are: Osterholt et al, U.S. Pat. No. 7,234,672 issued Jun. 26, 2007 for a retractable hanger to hold a purse during gambling activities; Samples, Des. 377,866 issued Feb. 11, 1997 coat hanger type design; and Robinson, Des. 409,399 issued May 11, 1999 for a combination coat and purse hanger affixed to a wall or vertical support surface.

The hanging device described below provides an S shaped article hanger, which removably fits over the top of bathroom stalls or doors of public restrooms to provide a hook of simple construction to suspend purses and bags to keep them from getting wet by contacting wet floors. Thus suspended, they also avoid contact with germs on the floor providing sanitary temporary storage.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention comprises an S shaped hook with one open end sized to fit over and removably secure to the top edge of a vertical partition, such as the bathroom stall or door of a public restroom. The opposite open end of the S shaped hook is thus positioned to extend s outwardly on the opposite side of a vertical support surface to provide a hook sized to removably secure therein a purse handle or strap to suspend the same from contacting the floor.

The S shaped hook is made of a durable, flexible acrylic plastic material or similar lightweight material. It is approximately 6 inches in length and has a flat cross-section to fit better inside a purse or bag. Preferably, it has the strength to support up to 8 pounds, although other stronger sizes are contemplated for larger bags and packs.

The ends of the S shaped hook are rounded to better secure objects within its ends and prevent snagging the contents of the purse or bag, when stored therein. It is patterned and colored to suit the preference of a user to provide a decorative purse or bag accessory.

The S shaped hook may be segmented and hingedly connected to fold segments of the S shaped hook into a more compact arrangement for storage. When needed, the segments are unfolded to form an S shaped hook for hanging articles from top edges of vertical wall stalls or dividers.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the invention affixed to a vertical support surface.

FIG. 2 is perspective view of another embodiment of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is another preferred segmented embodiment of the invention folded.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the embodiment of FIG. 3 opened to form an S shaped hook.

FIG. 5 is another preferred segmented embodiment of the invention opened to form an S shaped hook.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the embodiment of FIG. 5 closed for storage to form a C shaped storage item.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the invention affixed to a vertical support surface. The invention comprises an S shaped hook 10 with one open end 12 with an opening 16 sized to fit over and removably secure to the top edge of a vertical partition such as a bathroom stall or door 20 of a public restroom. Thus mounted, it positions its opposite open end 14 on the opposite side of the partition to act as a hanging hook 10 with an opening 18 sized to removably secure therein a purse handle or strap to suspend the same from contacting the floor.

The ends 12, 14 of the S shaped hook 10 are angled and symmetric to contact the top edge of a vertical support surface and removably secure the same in position to hold the opposite end 14 with its opening 18 forming a cradle to support a purse handle or strap. Although the embodiment shown has symmetric ends 12, 14, it is contemplated within the scope of this invention that these ends may be sized differently.

The ends 22, 24 of the S shaped hook 10 are rounded to assist in holding onto the top edge of the partition 20, and prevent snagging the contents of the purse or bag, when stored therein. It is patterned and colored to suit the preference of a user.

This particular embodiment is approximately 4½ inches tall and approximately ½ inches thick. The S shaped hook 10 construction has I-Bar reinforced edges 25 as shown in FIG. 2 for added structural integrity to hold more weight.

To use the S shaped hook 10, it is removed from a purse, bag, or backpack, and placed on the top edge of a vertical bathroom stall or door 20 as discussed above. The opposite end 14 thus forms a support hook on the opposite side of the vertical bathroom stall or door 20 so that a strap or purse handle may be supported thereon without contacting the ground. To remove the S shaped hook 10, the strap or purse handle is first removed from the opposite end 14. The S shaped hook 10 is then removed from the vertical support surface and placed in the purse, bag, or back pack.

The S shaped hook 10 is made of a durable, flexible acrylic plastic material or similar lightweight material. It is up to 6 inches in length and has a flat cross-section to fit better inside a purse or bag. Preferably, it has the strength to support up to 8 pounds, although other stronger sizes are contemplated for larger bags and packs.

FIG. 3 is another preferred embodiment of the invention. The S shaped hook is segmented with oval semi-circular segments 12, 14 articulated to fold and unfold forming an S shaped hook for use as a hanger in one mode, and to fold in an oval for storage in another mode. Specifically, the segmented sections of the S shaped hook are ovals 12, 14 rotatably connected at corresponding ends with a rotating hinge 26 such that the ovals 12, 14 unfold to form an S shaped hook for use as a hanger as shown in FIG. 4, and pivot back to form an oval shape as shown in FIG. 3 for storage.

FIG. 5 is another preferred segmented embodiment of the invention 10, which opens to form an S shaped hook. The segmented sections 12, 14 of the S shaped hook 10 are C shapes pivotally connected at corresponding ends 28 such that the C sections unfold in one mode to form an S shaped hook for use as a hanger as shown in FIG. 5. After use, the segmented sections 12, 14 are pivoted closed as shown in FIG. 6 aligning the C sections to form a C shaped storage item.

The embodiments of FIGS. 3-6 are preferably made of metal so that the hinges are strong enough to support articles supported thereon.

Although this specification has referred to the illustrated embodiments, it is not intended to restrict the scope of the claims. The claims themselves recite those features deemed essential to the invention. 

1. An article hanger comprising an S shaped hook with a. an open segment. sized with an open end to fit over and removably secure to a top edge of a vertical support surface, and b. an opposite segment with an open end positioned to extend outwardly on an opposite side of the vertical support surface when mounted to provide a hook with an opening sized to removably secure therein a handle or strap of an article to suspend the same from contacting the floor.
 2. An article hanger according to claim 1, wherein the S shaped hook is segmented with segments articulated to unfold forming an S shaped hook for use as a hanger in one mode, and to fold for storage in another mode.
 3. An article hanger according to claim 2, wherein the segmented sections of the S shaped hook are semi-circles rotatably connected at corresponding ends such that the semi-circles unfold to form an S shaped hook for use as a hanger, and pivot to form a circle shape for storage.
 4. An article hanger according to claim 2, wherein the segmented sections of the S shaped hook are C shapes pivotally connected at corresponding ends such that the C sections unfold in one mode to form an S shaped hook for use as a hanger, and in another mode pivot aligning the C sections to form a C shape for storage.
 5. An article hanger according to claim 1, wherein the S shaped hook is made of a durable, flexible acrylic plastic material or similar lightweight material.
 6. An article hanger according to claim 1, wherein the open ends are barbed to assist in securing the S shaped hook open segment to the vertical support surface, and hold articles on the opposite segment.
 7. An article hanger according to claim 1, wherein the open ends are rounded to prevent snagging the contents of a purse or bag, when stored therein.
 8. An article hanger according to claim 1, wherein the S shaped hook is approximately 6 inches in length and has a flat cross-section to fit better inside a purse or bag.
 9. An article hanger according to claim 8, wherein the S shaped hook is constructed of a material to support up to 8 pounds, when in use as a hanger.
 10. An article hanger according to claim 9, wherein the S shaped hook is patterned and colored. 